Mission to Tibet: The Extraordinary Eighteenth-Century Account of Father Ippolito Desideri S. J.

833 Pages·2010·16.765 MB·English

by  Ippolito Desideri, Leonard Zwilling (ed.), Michael J Sweet (trans.)

comparative religion/history
O
f all the Roman Catholic missionaries to Asia, the Italian Jesuit
Ippolito Desideri (1684–1733) was perhaps the most remarkable. Despite
his fervent hope of converting Tibet to the Christian faith, he was in impor-
tant ways the first Western scholar of Tibetan Buddhism, translating Buddhist texts
into Italian and writing scholarly tomes in Tibetan, complete with quotations from
Nagarjuna. Mission to Tibetoffers the first complete English translation of Desideri’s
captivating account of his sojourn in Tibet.”
—Donald Lopez, Arthur E. Link Distinguished University Professor and chair
of the department of Asian languages and cultures, University of Michigan
“Desideri was more than merely a determined and subtle opponent of a religion not
his own; he was also a perceptive scholar of Tibetan doctrine, an amazing linguist,
and a fascinating travel writer. Sweet has captured his essence in this commanding
work. Everyone with an interest in Tibet, Tibetan Buddhism, world history, and
world religion will enjoy this wonder-filled account of Desideri’s pioneering adven-
ture, intimately detailed from Rome to Lhasa and back.”
—Jeffrey Hopkins, author of Meditation on Emptiness
“Mission to Tibetis the most important work to appear in the field of Desideri stud-
ies since Luciano Petech’s critical edition of the Jesuit’s writings over fifty years ago.
That Mission to Tibetprovides a rip-roaring adventure, political intrigue, and a win-
dow onto a long-lost Tibet only adds to the pleasure of reading this new translation.”
—Trent Pomplun, department of theology, Loyola University
Maryland, and author of Jesuit on the Roof of the World
“Sweet’s and Zwilling’s thorough historical work and beautiful translation make this
book an instant classic and essential resource for anyone interested in the history of
intercultural learning, comparative theology, and missiology.”
—John Makransky, associate professor of Buddhism
and comparative theology, Boston College
“Nearly half a century ago, the linguist Roy Andrew Miller lamented the lack of an
English edition capable of conveying the true value of Desideri’s precise and inform-
ative contributions on central aspects of Tibetan life. Today, at last, the English-
speaking world finally has access to Desideri’s monumental work.”
—Enzo Gualtiero Bargiacchi, Istituto Italiano per l’Africa
e l’Oriente, author of Ippolito Desderi S.J. Opere e Bibliografia
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Wisdom Publications •Boston 53495
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Mission to Tibet
This engraving by the Flemish artist Cornelis Bloemaert formed the fron-
tispiece to volume 6 (1659) of Daniello Bartoli’s Istoria della Compagnia
di Gesù (1650–73). St. Ignatius Loyola is represented in close communion
with God, symbolized by the sun, whose light illuminates the entire world.
The banner held aloft by the putti carries a quote from the early Christian
apologist Minucius Felix: “Affixed in heaven, yet diffused over all the earth.”
Public domain image.
MISSION
TIBeT
To

/
Extraordinary
The
Eighteenth-Century Account of
Father Ippolito Desideri, S.J.
Translated by Michael J. Sweet
Edited by Leonard Zwilling
Wisdom Publications • Boston
Wisdom Publications
199 Elm Street
Somerville MA 02144 USA
www.wisdompubs.org
© 2010 Michael J. Sweet and Leonard Zwilling
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic
or mechanical, including photo graphy, recording, or by any information storage
and retrieval system or technologies now known or later developed, without
permission in writing from the publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Desideri, Ippolito, 1684–1733.
[Notizie istoriche del Tibet. English]
Mission to Tibet : the extraordinary eighteenth-century account of Father Ippolito
Desideri, S.J. / translated by Michael J. Sweet ; edited by Leonard Zwilling.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-86171-676-0 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Tibet (China—Description and travel. 2. Tibet (China—Social life and customs—
18th century. 3. Tibet (China—Religious life and customs. 4. Buddhism—China—
Tibet—History—18th century. 5. Desideri, Ippolito, 1684–1733—Travel—China—Tibet.
6. Jesuits—China—Tibet—Biography. 7. Missions—China—Tibet—History—18th century.
I. Sweet, Michael J. (Michael Jay), 1945– II. Zwilling, Leonard. III. Title.
DS785.D47 2010
951'.5032—dc22
2010025726
14 13 12 11 10
5 4 3 2 1
eBook ISBN 978-0-86171-930-3
Cover image courtesy of the National Library of Australia. A map of independent
Tartary [cartographic material] : containing the territories of Usbeck, Gasgar, Tibet,
Lassa &c. / by H. Moll geographer. Printed by J. Nutt and sold by B. Barke in the
Savoy [London]: 1711–17. 66003290168 (3290168)
Cover and interior design by Gopa & Ted2, Inc. Set in Diacritical Garamond Pro 10.9/13.6.
Wisdom Publications’ books are printed on acid-free paper and meet the guidelines
for permanence and durability of the Production Guideli nes for Book Longevity
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This paper is FSC certified. For more information, please visit www.fscus.org.
Printed in the United States of America.
Contents
/
List of Illustrations xiii
Preface vx
Technical Note xvii
List of Abbreviations xix
Chronology xxi
Introduction 1
I Reading Historical Notices of Tibet (HNT):
Genre, Style, Historiography, and Rhetoric 1
II Ippolito Desideri: His Life and Mission 14
III The Making of the HNT 62
Historical Notices of Tibet, and a Personal Account of the Journeys
and the Mission Undertaken There by Fr. Ippolito Desideri
of the Society of Jesus, Written and Dedicated by the Same
To the Reader 113
Book I
Personal Account of the Journey from Rome to Lhasa,
the Capital City of the Third Tibet, and of the Mission Undertaken There
1 Departure from Rome and Journey to Lisbon 119
2 Voyage from Lisbon to the Latitude of the Cape
of Good Hope 123
3 Continuation of the Voyage to Mozambique and Then
on to Goa 128
vi mission to tibet
4 Departure from Goa and Journey to Delhi, Capital
of the Mogul Empire, and Brief Notices of That Court 133
5 Of the Churches and Christian Community of the
Society of Jesus in Delhi and of Some of the Notable
Christians Living There 143
6 Stay in the City of Agra and Notices of the Jesuit
Mission There 149
7 Departure from Delhi; Arrival in Kashmir and Stay
in That City; Some Notices of That Place 155
8 Departure from Kashmir and the Journey to Ladakh,
Capital of the Second Tibet 160
9 Stay in Ladakh, Capital City of the Second or Great Tibet;
Departure and Arrival at Tashigang 165
10 Journey across the Great Desert of Ngari Jungar and
Assistance Received from the Company of a Tartar Princess 168
11 Arrival at the First Inhabited Places of the Third and
Greatest Tibet; The Journey Continued and Arrival
at the Capital; Visits to the King and Chief Ministers;
Beginning of the Mission in That Kingdom 176
12 Protection from the King; Help Provided Him and the
Prime Minister in Their Peril; Demonstrations of Gratitude
Shown by the Same; Their Gifts and Offerings Refused 181
13 The First Book Composed by the Author in the Tibetan
Language and Solemnly Presented to the King at a
Public Audience 185
14 Study of the Books and of the Errors of Those People 189
15 Other Books Written by the Author in the Tibetan
Language 192
16 An Account of the Mission That the Society of Jesus
Has Had in Tibet from Its Foundation to the Time
of the Author 196
17 Account of the Most Reverend Capuchin Fathers Sent by the
Propaganda to the Missions of Tibet; The Author’s Conversa-
tions and Good Relations with the Same in That Kingdom 204
contents vii
Book II
Notices of the Nature, Customs, and Civil Government of Tibet
1 The Boundaries and Geography of Great Tibet 211
2 The Climate and Fertility of the Country of Tibet 214
3 Of the Musk Animal and of Other Animals Found in Tibet 218
4 Of the Rivers of Tibet, and of Their Boats and Bridges 223
5 Of Western Tibet and of Some of Its Provinces and Cities 225
6 Of the City of Lhasa, Capital of Tibet, and of Its Environs 229
7 Of the Outskirts of Lhasa and the Middle Provinces of
This Tibet 234
8 Of the Eastern Provinces of Tibet 237
9 Of the Rulership of Tibet and How It Passed to the Tartars 242
10 Revolutions in Tibet before Its Rulership Passed from
the Tartars to the Chinese 245
11 The Unhappy End of King Genghis Khan and of His Family 250
12 Of the Rulership of Tibet When It Passed from the
Tartars to the Chinese 255
13 Of the Civil Government of Tibet 261
14 Of the Dress and Foods Used in Tibet 267
15 Of the Letters and Alphabet of the Tibetans, and
Their Aptitude for Learning and the Arts 274
16 Of the Physical Characteristics, Occupations, Games,
Agriculture, and Inclinations of the Tibetans 280
17 Of Marriages among the Tibetans 285
18 Tibetan Customs concerning the Dead 290
Book III
Of the False Sect of the Unique Religion Observed in Tibet
1 Of the Grand Lama, Chief of This Religion 297
2 Persuasive Reasons Why the Above-Mentioned Creation
of a New Grand Lama Is the Direct Work of the Devil 301
viii mission to tibet
3 Reply to the Arguments of Those Who Judge the
Above-Mentioned Deception to Be the Artifice of Men
and Not of the Devil 311
4 In Which Are Continued the Notices of the Grand Lama
and the Lesser Lamas of Tibet 318
5 Of the Men and Women Religious of Tibet: Their Convents,
Dress, Organization, and Customs 324
6 Of the Different Kinds of Religious in Tibet 334
7 In Which We Commence to Treat the Errors and the
Religion of the Tibetans, Beginning with an Explanation
of the System of Metempsychosis or Pythagorean
Transmigration, according to the Assertions and Beliefs
of the Same 341
8 Opinions of the Tibetans concerning Animals and Certain
Living Beings Called Yidak by Them, and What They
Believe and Assert concerning Hell 349
9 In Which Are Continued the Notices of Other Things
That the Tibetans Assert and Believe concerning the
Explanation of Their System of Metempsychosis 356
10 Exposition and Explanation of Another Enormous
and Fundamental Error of the Sect of the Tibetans,
Which Consists in Denying Any Uncaused Being in Itself
and Any Primary Cause of All Things 364
11 Whether the Tibetans, in Denying the Existence of the
True God, Accept Some Imaginary Deity or Are
Absolutely without Any Knowledge of God 374
12 Of the Three Classes of Objects of Worship and Prayer
Admitted by the Tibetans; Their Nature Is Explained,
and It Is Shown That They Do Not Recognize Any
Divinity in Them 378
13 Of What the Religion of the Tibetans Contains regarding
Morality: Virtue, Vice, and the Regulation of Conduct 386
14 Of the Tibetans’ Lawgiver and of Some Fables They
Relate of Him 392
contents ix
15 Of the Two Other Principal Idols of the Tibetans,
One Called Chenresik and the Other Urgyen 398
16 Of Some Other Fables concerning the Above-Mentioned
Urgyen That the Tibetans Believe and Disseminate 406
17 Tibet in Antiquity Was without a Law; King Trisong Detsen
Sought a Religion; To That End He Sent Ambassadors
to Several Countries and Select Young Men to Hindustan 413
18 By Whom the False Religion Was Introduced to Tibet;
The First Temple Built in That Kingdom, Books Translated
into That Language, Convents of Religious Established
There, and Other Efforts Taken There to Spread Its Errors 418
19 On Some Other Lesser Objects of Veneration Worshiped
by the Tibetans 428
20 Of Some Places Held in Reverence by the Tibetans and
of Their Observances toward Them; Of Their Rosary
and Fasts 435
21 An Answer to Some Doubts and Queries That Might
Arise concerning Matters Previously Treated 441
22 Of Some Relations and Authors Who Have Treated
Tibet and an Assessment of Them 448
Book IV
Departure from the Mission to the Kingdoms of Tibet;
Passing on to Other Missions and Return to Europe
1 Departure from Lhasa; Stay in Kuti, Departure from the
Final Border of Tibet, and Arrival in the Kingdom of Nepal 459
2 Some Notices of the Kingdom of Nepal 463
3 Journey from Nepal to the Ganges and on to the City
of Patna 469
4 Some Notices of the City of Patna 475
5 Departure from Patna and Journey to the City of Agra;
Account of the Cities of Benares and Allahabad, and of
the River Ganges; Stay in Agra 481